Sharing another letter from Kiran sir, written (Sept. 1982) from Rajghat, Varanasi. The monsoons come alive and the vivid imagery of the land’s fecundity during the rains is Marquezesqe. His first novel – Halfway Up The Mountain – is replete with such evocative descriptions. Thank you, sir!

One of his favourite authors was Steinbeck. I remember reading – The Grapes of Wrath – a few years later and being struck by the harsh and striking imagery of the dying crops in the opening paras. What stood out was the author’s deep commitment to his writing. So it is in this letter by a young teacher to a former student. I can only imagine his arc in the pulsating world of advertising in Mumbai from a young spark in the 1980s to a revered smiling buddha anchored in climbing rocks:)